At about 2:30 in the morning I decided to treat myself to some new music, so I ordered 3 CDs from Walmart. They should be at my house anywhere from 5 to 10 days.I ordered a new portable CD player a few hours before that as well. It should arrive at my house in the same amount of time.

The CDs are:

Floating by Eloy

I've never heard anything by Eloy, but they looked really good and I've been wanting to try some new things too.

Over the past few weeks I've been buying some cheap CD's I've come across in thrift stores. Some I'm sort of familiar with or know what I'm getting in to and the rest are on impulse and the results vary. All of these were from $0.50 to $1.50:

I've heard only a little of Weird Al, but I like what I have heard enough to order a CD! I also saw his movie (UHF) which also increased my desire to get a CD.

Decent album overall, but I'm a bit biased as I have all his albums, cheesy compilations included. One suggestion: if you can find it, grab The Essential Weird Al Yankovic. It's relatively cheap, coming in around $15 (various stores have it cheaper), and it's a 2 disc compilation of a cross of his best known parodies: "Eat It", "Smells Like Nirvana", "Lasagna", "White and Nerdy", as well as some of his best known Non-Parodies: "You Don't Love Me Anymore", "Dare to Be Stupid", "Pancreas", and "Bob."

I've heard only a little of Weird Al, but I like what I have heard enough to order a CD! I also saw his movie (UHF) which also increased my desire to get a CD.

Decent album overall, but I'm a bit biased as I have all his albums, cheesy compilations included. One suggestion: if you can find it, grab The Essential Weird Al Yankovic. It's relatively cheap, coming in around $15 (various stores have it cheaper), and it's a 2 disc compilation of a cross of his best known parodies: "Eat It", "Smells Like Nirvana", "Lasagna", "White and Nerdy", as well as some of his best known Non-Parodies: "You Don't Love Me Anymore", "Dare to Be Stupid", "Pancreas", and "Bob."

Thanks for the information! I've heard about The Essential Weird Yankovic and it looks really nice, but when I first buy an artist's CDs I like to start with non-compilation albums. Still I've heard it has some new stuff so I'll look it into it.

I've heard only a little of Weird Al, but I like what I have heard enough to order a CD! I also saw his movie (UHF) which also increased my desire to get a CD.

Decent album overall, but I'm a bit biased as I have all his albums, cheesy compilations included. One suggestion: if you can find it, grab The Essential Weird Al Yankovic. It's relatively cheap, coming in around $15 (various stores have it cheaper), and it's a 2 disc compilation of a cross of his best known parodies: "Eat It", "Smells Like Nirvana", "Lasagna", "White and Nerdy", as well as some of his best known Non-Parodies: "You Don't Love Me Anymore", "Dare to Be Stupid", "Pancreas", and "Bob."

Thanks for the information! I've heard about The Essential Weird Yankovic and it looks really nice, but when I first buy an artist's CDs I like to start with non-compilation albums. Still I've heard it has some new stuff so I'll look it into it.

The second disc has stuff from his '99, '03 and '06 releases. As much as I like Al's work, I generally suggest a compilation to people, as most people aren't 'hardcore' fans of him like myself and a few others, and they can only take so much of his output. The compilation's have the best-written stuff, as some cd's have a few songs that are not-so-good.

I won't say that I will definitely become a hardcore fan, but I have a very broad range of comedic tastes ranging from very clever and witty to very corny and stupid, so I feel confident I'll be more into him than most people.

I also feel admiration for Weird Al as it's pretty cool how he managed to make a living!

Music for TV Dinners (On the back of the case it's described with the following: "An inspiring and soothing collection of production music - ready-made tunes that have appeared in everything from feature-length movies to TV and radio commercials, and even those "edifying" driver's ed and good citizenship films you were forced to watch on school.")

No, but I've also been ordering from different sites. Mostly Amazon, but Dokken and Quiet Riot are coming from Deep Discount (My first order from there). However, everything else I've bought in person from stores nearby. Mostly thrift stores, which is the only reason I can afford all this. Also, cassettes are always cheaper in thrift stores.

Famous Monsters!/b] by The Misfits...granted, not the 'classic' lineup, but one that's eluded me as no stores seem to carry it. Found it today while out shopping. I try to collect all their material, regardless.

I found 1 CD in a thrift store recently:Train of Thought - Dream Theater(http://img143.imageshack.us/img143/458/dreamtheatertrainofthou.jpg) (http://img143.imageshack.us/i/dreamtheatertrainofthou.jpg/)It was brand new and never opened!

Greatest Hits Volume 1&2 by Billy Joel. All the good songs: The Entertainer, Piano Man, Captain Jack, New York State of Mind, Scenes from An Italian Restaurant, Just the Way You Are, Movin' Out (Anthony's Song), Only the Good Die Young, Big Shot, Pressure, Allentown, Uptown Girl, The Longest Time, Tell Her About It and quite a few others.

Raging Slab (1989)Great debut album of southern infused hard rock, very fresh sound and now one of my fave all-time albums. "Get Off My Jollies" is kick ass along with mellow stand-out "Love Comes Loose". The picture is from the Rock Candy re-issue this year, as the band hated the original cover shot. :thumbup:

The local public library was having their annual Book Sale today so in addition to some cool geeky stuff like Star Wars and Aliens Vs. Predator paperback novels and a bad-ass "Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man" reprint compendium (the first 31 issues all in one book!), I scored a couple of CDs as well:

Heart - DOG & BUTTERFLY (1978, remaster w/bonus tracks)Heart - JUPITER'S DARLING (2004)Emerson, Lake & Palmer - THE BEST OF ELP (never been much of a prog-rock fan, but the last track is Greg Lake's solo Christmas single "I Believe In Father Christmas" and I love listening to that one at holiday time...)

...and more Neil Diamond, Bobby Sherman, Jay and The Americans, The Cowsill's, Tom Jones, Wishbone, Tommy Roe, The Flaming Ember, Bill Cosby...I got the whole stack for $2. They are pristine: it was like opening a time capsule. Somebody's collection set aside and forgotten until now. And they sound great. I'm pleased and excited! :teddyr:

Hit a garage sale today and made these pickups for a grand total of $2:

U2 - The Joshua Tree and Live Under a Blood Red SkyLoverboy - Big OnesVarious - Have A Nice Day: Super Hits of the '70s Vol. 13 (random Rhino Records comp that I grabbed cuz it had Golden Earring's "Radar Love" on it, as well as Reunion's "Life is a Rock (But the Radio Rolled Me)," which my friend's band used to cover...)

Bump... this thread hasn't seen much action in a while. Am I the only one who still purchases music? (Shudder) That's a scary thought. :teddyr:

Anyway, this past week I picked up this pair from WalMart...

(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51%2BO8Vqv-%2BL.jpg)I figured it was about time I owned me some of Unca Ted's material aside from his work with Damn Yankees and this was a nice cheap starter...

(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61cuM2%2BIRmL._SY300_.jpg)I usually skip compilations but this one has a couple of unreleased tracks on it, including "Electra," which would've been on RJD's concept album "Magica II" had he lived to complete it.

(https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSpaS1z3p1L6CXpE8NbTZHRYvDc2lXXOzIww-sb-V4lBiZAMv47)Goldie/Rufige Crew - Memoirs Of An afterlife. Not bad although pretty average and nowhere nears as good as Timeless. ("well obviously", I hear you say)

(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/4156GT5QJHL.jpg)Irv Gotti - The Inc. this was cheap. not surprised, its horrible. from 2002, and proves my theory that hip hop/rap stopped being good in 1998

I ordered a "Used" copy for $2.49, but it arrived new & still sealed...I love when that happens. :teddyr:

yeah same thing's happened to me before when buying off amazon. a nice surprise.

That's the second time it has happened with this batch of orders from Hastings (the other being the Donnas' Gold Medal), and it's happened a couple of other times when I've ordered from them in the past too.

Last two stragglers from my GoHastings.com order arrived a few days ago... (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/a5/Chris_Caffery_faces.jpg)Solo debut from the guitarist of Savatage. I ordered this "used," but it arrived new and still sealed... and it was even the special deluxe 2-CD edition with a bonus disc full of extra tracks, all for a mere for $1.74. This is why I love ordering used stuff from this site. :teddyr:

(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/0/0e/Hunt-guinf.jpg)Career-spanning compilation of the Christian pop-punk band that basically picked up where the Ramones left off.

For the unaware, this technically isn't a "Queensryche" album... this is their lead singer Geoff Tate, who was fired earlier this year, and a gang of hired guns he put together to crank out a quick record using the Queensryche name before he and the rest of the band go to court to decide who owns the rights to it later this year.

The "other" Queensryche, with new lead singer Todd LaTorre, will release their album late next month... then things should get very interesting, very quickly... :question:

Finally got around to picking up the new self-titled Queensryche album (with new lead vocalist Todd LaTorre) today.

The only copies Best Buy had were the super-duper "deluxe mini box" set version which contains a digi-pak version of the CD (with three live bonus tracks) plus a Queensryche logo patch, some pin-back buttons, a sticker and a Queensryche guitar pick. Neat-O.

Leash Law - DogfaceSole album by a shortlived heavy metal "super group" of minor leaguers like vocalist Wade Black (Crimson Glory), drummer Richard Christy (Death, Iced Earth) and a couple of former members of the early 90s prog/death metal band Nocturnus.

Dead On Arrival - Alive and Kickin' (1995) This was just too weird to pass up, it's an independent release by a New York area hard rock band. It sounds pretty much like I expected - a low budget recording of some local yokels copying KISS, Priest and Motley Crue. Song titles include "Hot Babes" (yes, really!), "The Girl Next Door," "Honey Dipper" and "Hot Blooded/Cold Hearted." This would've been hopelessly out of date in 1985, never mind 1995.

Bad Company - 10 From 6 - greatest hits compilation from the classic rock band

Krokus - Extended Versions - Yet another entry in the never-ending budget price line of concert discs, this time by the Swiss hard rock/metal band. Sounds like they're aging well.

picked up a goody via BestBuy.com earlier this week... deluxe reissue of Twisted Sister's 1982 debut Under The Blade, with the four-track Ruff Cuts EP added as bonus tracks, plus a DVD of TS's breakthrough performance at the 1982 Reading Festival. An absolute steal for 3.99!!

Today I got to do something that I haven't done in a couple of years (yes, I said YEARS!)... visit a real, live, honest to frickin-Gawd RECORD STORE (remember those?)!!

... I had to visit my company's main office for my annual review today. I don't get out that way very often anymore so when I passed a hole-in-the-wall mom & pop record shop (which I last visited in probably 2012 or so) naturally I had to stop in for a peek... and I am glad I did. A few minutes of scrounging and I came up with these:

Tora Tora - Surprise AttackHelloween - I Want Out! Live (I haven't seen this on CD in... well, ever!)Whitesnake - Good To Be Bad

As a Godflesh fan from years back I felt that what I'd heard from A World....was kinda sad for me. There's nothing better than an older band coming back out there and showing the young'uns how it's done. Unfortunately from what I've heard of this one was pretty mediocre and tired. I think a big problem is Justin's newfound infatuation with an 8-string guitar which is somewhat pointless and unnecessary. Godflesh for me were THE ultimate marriage of metal metting industrial (f**k Ministry, Fear Factory(POSERS!) and the like). They were the first and the best at what they did. Everybody points to Streetcleaner as their defining moment but it was the Pure album which did it for me. I loved how they started to incorporate melodic elements and clean vocals into the mix. Speaking of mix - the production on that album was fantastic given the fact that it was recorded on an 8 track cassette machine. The Selfless abum - while still fairly good - was an all digital recording and it's the reason why I say I don't prefer digital recording these days. Nowadays I'd rather listen to Jesu rather than pulling out their early classics so I have absolutely no idea what I'm ranting on about. Sorry about the little tirade DWV. The namedrop just sparked something I guess.

Cannibal Corpse - Butchered at BirthDeath - Vivus!Alice Cooper - From the InsideGRINDCRUSHER (It's an old compilation of several death metal, thrash metal and grindcore songs. They even have Godflesh's Streetcleaner song on here).

Arguably their finest hour. Every song is diabolically catchy and well crafted.

(http://www.metal-archives.com/images/6/0/6/606.jpg?0305)

Six Feet Under - Crypt of the Devil

Definitely a better release than Warpath, True Carnage, Bringer of Blood, Commandement and the Graveyard Classics but not as awesome as Undead, Haunted and Death Rituals. As good as it is, Crypt of the Devil should've been an EP because the first three songs (Gruesome, Open Coffin Orgy, Broken Bottle Rape) and Lost Remains are without question the strongest on the CD.

Ordered some used goodies from GoHastings on Cyber Monday, most of which arrived today. Still waiting for one more, and then I think that'll do me for CD shopping for the rest of the year:

Various - Humanary Stew: A Tribute to Alice CooperTwisted Sister - Club Daze Vol. II: Live in the Bars (paid "used" price but it came as a new & sealed cut out) Prong - Rude AwakeningAnthrax - State of EuphoriaHelmet - Meantime

I drove home from work in a gully-washer of a thunder and lightning storm tonight. It was raining so hard that it was tough to see where I was going, so I decided to pull off the road and root around the Goodwill Store for a while in the hopes that it would give the storm time to blow over. CD pickin's there have been slim the past few times I'd visited but I scored some goodies this time out...

Wait, how are you ordering these? I went to their site and all they have a message telling me they're going out of business. Did you place the orders before they announced their closing or something?

Yep, I placed my last order with GoHastings about a week before the closings were made official. I received the last CD from that batch in the mail on Wednesday, July 20th - and they announced their liquidation the very next day, on Thursday the 21st. Timing is everything :D

I picked up four more from Goodwill on the way home from work the other day:

Pulp Fiction soundtrack (had the cassette, but hadn't ever had a chance to get the CD)

Goldfinger-Stomping Ground bought it for their cover of "99 Red Balloons" (which is, IMHO, is REALLY good), that's really only thing I knew from the band, but it had a few other cool songs too.

From Zero-One Nation Under - I really know nothing about this band, I bought the CD because the cover caught my attention and it was less than two dollars after a discount. So, I figured what the heck.

After Dark: The Alternative Gothic Rock Collection - Again, of the 14 or so bands on this CD, I've only actually heard of about three of them. Haven't had a chance to listen to it yet, but I figured, again, at less than $2 I'm sure I'll find at least one song I like.

For the curious, the CD has groups like The Jesus and Mary Chain (heard of, but don't think I've ever heard of their tracks), The Cure, Nightwish, etc.

Perris Records (an '80s style hard rock/metal web store) is having a clearance sale so I wandered over there, took a peek and gambled on a handful of ultra cheap unknowns, which arrived today...

Crawler - Knight of the Word

Hammered - The Beginning

Rising Dust - Taste of Fire

Icy Steel - Kronothor

Crawler was $1.95, the others were 99 cents apiece, I figured that was cheap enuff to risk on some unfamiliar names. Rising Dust are French stoner rockers (the cover of Motörhead's "Iron Horse/Born to Lose" sold me) and the rest appear to be Italian power/trad metal bands. Perris threw in a couple of their trademark freebie sampler CDs as well. Neat-O.

While visiting my Mom yesterday, my brother took me a few towns over to a cool "pop culture junk shop" (comics, used CDs/vinyl, video games, action figures, etc.) he's been meaning to show me for a while - cool little hole in the wall place with a lot of neat stuff, but everything is so haphazard (boxes upon boxes of stuff piled everywhere) that it would've taken me all day to do a halfway decent scrounge... there were a few racks of CDs I couldn't even get to cuz there was so much crap in the way. Still managed to come away with these for five bucks a pop:

Salty Dog - Every Dog Has its DayQueensryche - Promised LandTrans-Siberian Orchestra - The Lost Christmas EveSabbat - History of a Time to ComePriestess - Hello MasterBon Jovi - s/tCinderella - Once Upon A...Loverboy - Classics: Their Greatest HitsBlue Oyster Cult - Don't Fear the Reaper: The Best Of Blue Oyster Cult

Blondie - The Best of Blondie(I've wanted this one for awhile...but till now, every one I've come across in the thrifts turned out to be an empty CD case, a wrong disc in the case, or a beat up, scratched-to-hell copy. Victory at last! Haha.)

Blondie - The Best of Blondie(I've wanted this one for awhile...but till now, every one I've come across in the thrifts turned out to be an empty CD case, a wrong disc in the case, or a beat up, scratched-to-hell copy. Victory at last! Haha.)

*These three are long out of print, hard to find and usually command ridiculous collector's-item prices, so when I found them dirt cheap on noted bootleg haven iOffer dot com I knew that they had to be Eastern European counterfeit/pirate discs... but as I get older I find I'm less picky about that kinda stuff. Besides, I have given up all hope of ever finding legit copies of them out "in the wild." :D